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Speaking of iffy ingredients: okay, I know not everyone likes tofu, but then again, not everyone has had it cooked correctly. My father-in-law taught me how to cook tofu in such a way that everyone in the house eats it and asks for seconds. This is not what I would call a super-healthy meal since the tofu is sauteed in oil, but if you add enough stir-fried veggies to the mix you can make it work.

Drain a block of extra firm tofu. Lay it on a dishtowel or a few paper towels, put another dishtowel on top of it, and then stack some books or a cutting board on top to squeeze out as much of the water from the tofu as possible without crushing it. It helps to tilt it a bit to help the liquid drain out.

Once you've wrung out the tofu, cut it into bite-sized cubes. Maybe 1/2, 3/4 inch cubes are fine. You want them big enough to stay together, but small enough to cook firmly all the way through. Also chop up some cabbage, broccoli, water chestnuts, carrots, and whatever other veggies you like in a stir fry. Set all this stuff aside for now.

Prepare a pot of rice- jasmine is my favorite, for this or any other recipe, but go with what you like. When the rice is on its way, start the sauce. In a small saucepan mix together rice vinegar, soy sauce, and a fruit preserve of your choice (apricot is nice) in roughly equal proportions. You want to end up with enough to coat all of your tofu and veggies, so measure appropriately. Bring slowly to a simmer on low-medium heat. Sift in a little cornstarch to thicken it up a bit, turn the heat down to low, and keep stirring occasionally. You can start the next part while it simmers. When it's the consistency of sweet & sour sauce, take it off the heat.

Prepare a bowl of 1 beaten egg and a splash of milk, and another bowl with flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Maybe 1/2 tsp salt, enough pepper that you can see it throughout the flour, and paprika to turn it all kind of pinky-orange. In a large skillet, heat your choice of oil (olive is fine) at about medium high. The oil should cover the bottom of the pan. Dip the tofu cubes first in the egg, then in the flour, and then put them in the pan. Cook them on all sides until they are nice and golden brown. When they are nice and firmly cooked, put them on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

Lastly, stir fry your veggies in a pan with a bit of oil and some soy sauce. Harder veggies go in first so they cook evenly. Keep them moving. When they are as crisp or soft as you like them, take them off the heat.

Now you can mix everything but the rice in a large bowl. Something with a lid is nice because you can close it up and shake to distribute the sauce. Serve over rice with soy sauce on the side.

This is probably my favorite recipe of any kind, meat or veggie, but I only prepare it occasionally because it's kind of complicated, not to mention fried. And I'm hit-or-miss when it comes to stir frying. If anyone has any tips for successful stir-frying, please post them!

The one who buggers a fire burns his penis-anonymous graffiti in the basilica at Pompeii

Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry garlic and ginger until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the rice and stiry-fry very quickly, until all the rice has just been coated in oil (say half a minute), then add the chicken stock. Stir thoroughly to keep the rice from sticking to the pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and let cook 15 minutes, or until the water is aborbed, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and let sit another fifteen minutes. Fluff.

Notes. Oil: Basically any sort of vegetable cooking oil will do; olive oil is not very authentic but it is tasty. Rice: This works really well with long-grain basmati. With medium-grain "Calrose" rice, the results are still pretty good; I suspect it needs a somewhat lower ratio of stock to rice, but I haven't found the optimal one, and 3:2 still turns out nicely. Most of the recipes I've seen enjoin you to wash the rice multiple times in cold water until it runs clear. I've tried that, and neither I nor my guests can really taste any difference.

Edit: I copied this so when it says I or my it's someone else. If you haven't tried Ginger Rice I highly recommend it.

I'm not a huge fan of brown rice, EXCEPT in rice pudding. Then I think it is way, way better than white rice. Rice pudding is one of my favorite "tweak it" recipes, since it's basically eggs, milk, rice, sweetener, and add-ins. It is delicious with maple syrup for sweetener. Hazelnuts sprinkled on top are also awesome.

The one who buggers a fire burns his penis-anonymous graffiti in the basilica at Pompeii

I'm not a huge fan of brown rice, EXCEPT in rice pudding. Then I think it is way, way better than white rice. Rice pudding is one of my favorite "tweak it" recipes, since it's basically eggs, milk, rice, sweetener, and add-ins. It is delicious with maple syrup for sweetener. Hazelnuts sprinkled on top are also awesome.

Actually, I like robust brown rice with something with a really strong.. dark.. flavour. The nuttiness of brown holds up where the whiter rices are just blown away. So, it's good with a strong hot lamb balti, where the curry has been stewing away all day in the slow cooker/crock pot (which is what I had Tuesday!)

This month's Saveur has an article about brown rice, but no rice pudding. Instead they have little rice balls filled with cheese, brown rice, lentil and spinach soup, and chicken with brown rice and chorizo (one for you, Geoff):

1. Heat oven to 400&#176;. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, without turning, until the skin is a deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. (Pour off and discard any accumulated fat and juices.) Add the chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chorizo to a plate, leaving the fat behind in the dutch oven. Set chorizo aside.

2. Add oregano, red pepper, garlic, onion, and bay leaf to the dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is lightly browned and somewhat soft, about 8 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until surface is glossy, about 2 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil while stirring often, and reduce by half, about 1 minute. Nestle chicken, chorizo, and peppers into rice mixture. Pour in broth and season liquid to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Transfer to the oven and bake until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

3. Remove the dish from oven, uncover, and gently stir in the peas with a fork. Let sit for 10 minutes, covered, to allow the flavors to meld.

This month's Saveur has an article about brown rice, but no rice pudding. Instead they have little rice balls filled with cheese, brown rice, lentil and spinach soup, and chicken with brown rice and chorizo (one for you, Geoff). We made the last one last night and it was delicious.

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion wedges and saut&#233; until onions soften and begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
2. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the pan with the onions. Saut&#233; the chicken until it is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove the onion and chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the raspberry jam, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger paste, and rosemary to the pan and cook, stirring constantly with a fork or whisk, for 2 minutes.
4. Return the chicken mixture to the pan. Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning the tenderloins over.

So, yesterday on a whim I bought all the stuff I need for a batch of cock-a-leekie soup. The bad thing is that I don't have anyone to feed it to, and I'm pretty sure I have way too much for me to eat on my own. I suppose I can split it into a bunch of little containers and eat it for lunch and dinner for a week, though.

It's a traditional Scottish soup with a great story: After a cock fight, the losers are stripped/cleaned and thrown into a pot of water to boil along with available local veggies (leeks and carrots) and grain that wasn't used in making the water of life (barley) to avoid wasting anything (and for expediency/cheapness...after all, it's Scottish).

Cock-a-Leekie soup:
- Chicken meat (you can get this from an entire chicken if you omit the chicken stock, but to speed up the process I prefer to just chop available chicken into pieces and toss it in using chicken broth... Leftovers from a roasted chicken work well, too)
- Water or chicken stock, mattering on your meat. (I usually use stock anyway, to make it tastier.)
- Way the hell too many leeks, cut into small pieces. (If you think you have too much, you're almost there. Get 5-6 of them for a normal-sized batch.) Make sure to cut all the green bits off, since everyone knows that Scots don't eat anything that is green (follow the Scottish adage "eat anything as long as it's not green, but only if it's cheap").
- A carrot, cut into small pieces.
- Some barley.
- Parsley, chopped finely.
- A bit of pepper.

Put it all in a pot, cover, and boil the hell out of it until the chicken and barley is cooked, and the leeks have disintegrated. Remove any bones before serving if you added any chicken bits with the bones still in.

Serve.

I usually end up with what looks like enough to feed a bunch of big guys tossing cabers, but I seldom have leftovers, and never for very long.

I 100%, N 88%, T 88%, J 75%

Disclaimer: The above is my opinion and mine alone, it does not mean I cannot change my mind, nor does it guarantee that my comments are related to any deep-seated convictions. Take everything I say with a whole snowplow worth of salt and call me in the morning, if you can.